Topological invariance in whiteness optimisation

Johannes S. Haataja, Gianni Jacucci, Thomas G. Parton, Lukas Schertel, Silvia Vignolini*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
54 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Maximizing the scattering of visible light within disordered nano-structured materials is essential for commercial applications such as brighteners, while also testing our fundamental understanding of light-matter interactions. The progress in the research field has been hindered by the lack of understanding how different structural features contribute to the scattering properties. Here we undertake a systematic investigation of light scattering in correlated disordered structures. We demonstrate that the scattering efficiency of disordered systems is mainly determined by topologically invariant features, such as the filling fraction and correlation length, and residual variations are largely accounted by the surface-averaged mean curvature of the systems. Optimal scattering efficiency can thus be obtained from a broad range of disordered structures, especially when structural anisotropy is included as a parameter. These results suggest that any disordered system can be optimised for whiteness and give comparable performance, which has far-reaching consequences for the industrial use of low-index materials for optical scattering.

Original languageEnglish
Article number137
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages10
JournalCommunications Physics
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2023
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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